HOW PEOPLE ARE SPENDING IN EARLY 2026 AND WHY IT MATTERS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Card payment data shows consumers are still spending in early 2026, but behavior is more selective and deal-driven. Visa and Mastercard report a gap between weak sentiment surveys and stronger actual spending. Higher-income shoppers drove the most growth, with the top-spend band rising fastest in Q4 2025 while lower-spend bands remained flat. Travel and e-commerce stay strong, and cross-border volume rose 15% as holiday shopping moved online.